The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested convicted former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman.
Mr Mamman had gone underground since the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him on 7 May of corruption charges and subsequently jailed him for 75 years on 13 May.
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The chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, announced Mr Mamman’s arrest at a press briefing Tuesday afternoon, Daily Trust reported.
Mr Olukoyede said Mr Mamman was arrested at about 3.30 a.m. on Tuesday.
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On 7 May, Judge James Omotosho found Mr Mamman guilty of all 12 counts of diversion of funds meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.
The judge convicted Mr Mamman in absentia, ruling that the EFCC proved its against him beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge said the prosecution established that the defendant and his associates stole at least N22 billion, describing the evidence as sufficient to sustain the charges. He held that the defence failed to present credible material to challenge the case put forward by the prosecution.
He condemned the diversion of funds meant for the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric projects, describing the conduct as a breach of public trust.
He said Mr Mamman relied on proxy companies and associates to move funds and benefit from public resources meant for critical national infrastructure.
Mr Mamman served as Minister of Power between 2019 and 2021 during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, overseeing Nigeria’s power sector and major federal hydroelectric projects, including the Mambilla and Zungeru power projects.
The judge ordered that Mr Mamman be arrested and produced in court on 13 May for sentencing.
But on 13 May, Mr Mamman was nowhere to be found, leaving the judge with no other option than to proceed with sentencing him.
The judge sentenced the convict to seven years’ imprisonment on counts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, without an option of a fine.
Judge Omotosho also sentenced him to a three-year jail term on Count 4 with an option of a N10 million fine and two years’ imprisonment on Count 5 without an option of a fine.
In a rare show of toughness against a corrupt official, the judge ordered that the sentences attached to each of the 12 counts run consecutively, not concurrently. A concurrent term would have amounted to seven years’ imprisonment, the highest imposed for any of the counts.
Because the sentences would run consecutively, Mr Mamman, 68, faces a total prison term of 75 years.
The former minister was sentenced in absentia on Wednesday.
The judge agreed with the EFCC’s lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, that although the defendant was not in court, the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, give the court the power to proceed with the sentencing.
Apart from the jail term imposed on him, Mr Mamman is under an arrest warrant issued by the FCT High Court in Abuja for another corruption trial.
On 11 May, Judge Maryanne Anenih ordered his arrest for his absence from proceedings in a N31 billion fraud trial involving him and seven others.
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